A bong (also water pipe, billy, bing, or moof) is a filtration device/apparatus generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

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August Gustav Heinrich von Bongard (12 September 1786, Bonn – 1839) was a German botanist, who worked at Saint Petersburg, Russia.

(n) A waterpipe for smoking marijuana. The marijuana is filtered through the water. When you suck it decreases the pressure in the chamber so the smoke get pulled through the water so it looks like it boiling. It is good because it filters out some of the bad stuff like tar. It also cools the smoke to make it less harsh.

(n) A waterpipe for smoking marijuana. The marijuana is filtered through the water. When you suck it decreases the pressure in the chamber so the smoke get pulled through the water so it looks like it boiling. It is good because it filters out some of the bad stuff like tar. It also cools the smoke to make it less harsh.

dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: Chairman Gyude BRYANT (since 14 October 2003); note - this is an interim position until presidential elections in 2005; the chairman is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Chairman Gyude BRYANT (since 14 October 2003); note - this is an interim position until presidential elections in 2005; the chairman is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate; note - current cabinet positions are divided among groups participating in the Liberian peace process
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (renewable); election last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held 11 October 2005)
election results: Charles Ghankay TAYLOR elected president; percent of vote - Charles Ghankay TAYLOR (NPP) 75.3%, Ellen Johnson SIRLEAF (UP) 9.6%, Alhaji KROMAH (ALCOP) 4%, other 11.1%; note - TAYLOR stepped down in August 2003
note: a UN-brokered cease-fire among warring factions and the Liberian government resulted in the August 2003 resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR; a jointly agreed upon replacement, Chairman Gyude BRYANT, assumed office as head of the National Transitional Government on 14 October 2003

Legislative branch:

bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (26 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held 11 October 2005); House of Representatives - last held 19 July 1997 (next to be held 11 October 2005)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 21, UP 3, ALCOP 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 49, UP 7, ALCOP 3, Alliance of Political Parties 2, UPP 2, LPP 1

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:

Alliance of Political Parties (a coalition of LAP and LUP) [leader NA]; All Liberia Coalition Party or ALCOP [Peter KERBAY]; Liberian Action Party or LAP [C. Gyude BRYANT]; Liberian People's Party or LPP [Koffa NAGBE]; Liberia Unification Party or LUP [leader NA]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Cyril ALLEN] - governing party; United People's Party or UPP [Wesley JOHNSON]; Unity Party or UP [Charles CLARKE]

1. apparatus for smoking marijuana or hashish consisting of a container, partially-filled with water, with a pipe passing into it. The harsh smoke is made smoother as it passes through the water;2.instance of smoking through a bong; 3.to smoke marijuana or hashish through a bong 1. take part in a dope smoking session; 2. (as a credo, often seen in graffiti) smoke marijuana. (from Thai "baung", literally, a cylindrical wooden tube) type of bong for smoking marijuana in which a bottomless plastic softdrink bottle is sunk partially into a bucket of water, the chamber is filled with smoke and then consumed all at once with the release of air pressure